I’m guessing that by now, you’ve already heard about the new Macs and HomePods announced last week. I’ve had a surprising number of questions about buying advice with the new Macs. I answered one of those questions over the weekend (about upgrading a 5K iMac with a short video). Here are my answers to some of the remaining questions…
This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?
Kaitlin Salzke is an accountant, student, and programmer who has built a library of OmniFocus automations. On this episode of Mac Power Users, she joins Stephen and me to talk about using JavaScript for automation, working on a PC during the week, and pushing the boundaries of what macOS can do.
This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:
I had a question from a Labs member about how to replace a 5K iMac with Apple silicon, so I made this short video to answer the question and I’m sharing it with you all…
This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?
It’s time for the latest Lab Report from MacSparky, covering this week’s Apple news and updates…
This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?
Here’s the video from the January MacSparky Labs Meetup. Enjoy…
This is a post for MacSparky Labs Level 3 (Early Access) and Level 2 (Backstage) Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?
So I’ve had the MacBook Pro for a while now, and while I usually use it connected to an external display, there are also plenty of times that I bask in the brightness of that high frame rate HDR screen. As laptop displays go, it’s the best I’ve ever seen.
There is, however, the question of that notch. It took some getting used to and made the installation of Bartender a must, but I barely notice it at this point. So I thought it’d be fun to lean into the Notch a bit and see what developers are doing with it. My favorite Notch-adjacent app is Notchmeister.
Notchmeister from The Iconfactory and Craig Hockenberry isn’t practical but loads of fun. The app lets you plus up your notch with effects like Glow, Plasma Leak, and Nano Radar. They even have a Festive theme that strings lights from your notch.
It’s a silly little app, but it also brings some whimsy to your Mac. That used to be commonplace, but these days not so much. I wish there were more.
Using calendar sets can really up your game, but setting them up takes time, so you’re less likely to use them. The good news is that you can easily automate them with Shortcuts. This video shows you how…
This is a post for MacSparky Labs Level 3 (Early Access) and Level 2 (Backstage) Members only. Care to join? Or perhaps do you need to sign in?
I received an email from a listener asking if it was too late to buy a Focused wall calendar. It is not.
Chris Bailey is back on Focused to talk about dopamine, burnout, and finding calm in these anxious times.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
Today Apple announced the release of a few new Macs.
M2 Mac mini
The big news here is that there are multiple Mac minis. There is an entry-level M2 Mac mini and a souped-up M2 “Pro” Mac mini. The new Pro chip is clocking as an improvement of up 20% processing, 30% graphics, and 40% on the neural engine. This fills an existing gap in the line for desktop Macs between the entry-level Mac mini and the much more powerful Mac Studio.
M2 MacBook Pro
This is the next iteration of the Apple silicon MacBook Pro. The M2 MacBook Pro comes in “Pro” and “Max” configurations. This machine is iterative compared to the M1 MacBook Pro, with improvements of 20% in processing and 30% faster on graphics. Few people will need to upgrade from the M1 MacBook Pro, but those on Intel machines should look at this one closely.
Below is Apple’s announcement video.